Chapter 038: Arrogant Enough?

His interception shattered the new formation Finance University had struggled to form. He rushed toward the opponent’s basket without hesitation, executed a spin move to dribble past the opposing center, and more importantly, successfully passed the ball to Zhou Zhexiao during the spin. When Zhou Zhexiao was double-teamed on the sideline, he used a fake pass to send the ball back toward the paint.

Chen Hao immediately hustled back on defense. He leaped high, his gaze locked on Xia Chiyi. You won’t make this!

Seeing that Xia Chiyi was about to be blocked by Chen Hao, and even Shuai Bei and Du He were ready on both sides to receive a pass, Xia Chiyi instead turned his body mid-air and executed a beautiful hook shot, sending the ball into the basket.

Upon landing, he staggered a couple of steps before being yanked back by Zhou Zhexiao.

Xia Chiyi grinned at Zhou Zhexiao, his eyes wide and bright, as if asking for praise.

Zhou Zhexiao merely patted the back of his head lightly and said in a voice only he could hear, “Be a bit more arrogant. I know you’re capable.”

Chen Hao stood there frozen… It was a hook shot?

The crowd in the stands went wild again.

“Holy crap, did Xia Chiyi just go head-to-head with Chen Hao? Chen Hao’s defense looked like it was going to slap his head off, but he wasn’t afraid at all?”

“He just tossed the ball around Chen Hao’s arm with such finesse… isn’t this guy too cool?”

“Where did he get the courage to go hard against Chen Hao in the paint! And the key is, he actually scored!”

“Turns out this guy doesn’t just shoot threes; his layup skills aren’t bad either!”

Xia Chiyi’s move made Finance University take note of his cutting ability. The coach called a timeout, and the Finance U players quickly gathered around him.

“Xia Chiyi is very fast. He doesn’t just have perimeter scoring ability. I was wondering why Ling Huanzhen didn’t use Chen Chuan; now it seems he might want to use Xia Chiyi as a forward.”

Chen Hao was dismissive, hands on his hips as he glanced back at Xia Chiyi, who was sucking on an energy jelly. “It was just one layup. It doesn’t represent anything.”

Jiang Yang and Li Jia looked at each other, revealing slightly worried expressions.

The coach couldn’t help but emphasize, “Hey, Chen Hao, don’t just treat Xia Chiyi as a guard. This guy cuts fast and has strong dribbling penetration. You absolutely cannot leave our paint empty, or it’s just gifting him points.”

Chen Hao replied, “Understood, I’ll watch him. A guard… should just honestly play guard. Not everyone can be a swingman.”

Although he wouldn’t admit it verbally, since Chen Hao promised to lock down Xia Chiyi, the coach said no more.

What Chen Hao hadn’t anticipated was that when Xia Chiyi and Zhou Zhexiao connected, they were simply demonic.

Zhou Zhexiao didn’t even need to look for Xia Chiyi when passing; a casual flick of the wrist, and Xia Chiyi would always appear at the end of the pass’s trajectory.

Before this match, Li Jia, as a point guard, thought his passing was unpredictable enough. But Zhou Zhexiao’s passing was spinning them around in circles. Crucially, that guy maintained a bland expression as if it were no big deal, acting like they were fragile elementary school students.

Most importantly, Xia Chiyi showed no attachment to three-pointers. Every time he caught the ball, he cut in immediately. Chen Hao stuck to him defensively, practically hugging him on the spot, but Xia Chiyi’s direction changes and fakes were so fast that Chen Hao began to doubt his own brain—why can’t I keep up?!

At first, Xia Chiyi would conservatively shoot or use the backboard. Later, he played smoother and smoother. Facing the double block of Finance University’s power forward and center, he still jumped arrogantly, extended his arm between them, and with a clever flick of his wrist, the ball went in again!

This was simply a provocation to Finance University!

“Too beautiful! Truly too beautiful! They are taller and stronger than him, yet he can find the angle to score!”

“Xia Chiyi, this guy, is truly tough!”

What worried the Finance University coach even more was that while Xia Chiyi was playing smoother in the forward position, Chen Hao was affected by him. Chen Hao had been focusing on man-marking him and hadn’t scored for a long time.

Xia Chiyi wasn’t just assaulting Finance University’s paint; he was exhausting their scoring weapon, Chen Hao.

Invisibly, it was as if a sheath had wrapped around Chen Hao, sealing all his sharpness inside.

The excited Ningchang University fans changed their slogan again.

“Ningchang University’s Xia Chiyi—Flowing like clouds and water! Lifting heavy weights as if they were light!”

“Ningchang University’s Xia Chiyi—Assassin’s Flash! One sword seals the throat!”

Listening to the waves of slogans, Chen Hao’s expression grew uglier. His gaze shifted to the stands, where his boyfriend, Xiao Yu, was looking at him with a worried expression.

As Xia Chiyi retreated to defend, he passed by Zhou Zhexiao and whispered, “Was I arrogant enough just now?”

“Not enough.” Zhou Zhexiao’s voice was calm, but the faint smile at the corner of his mouth showed he was in a good mood.

Xia Chiyi’s performance indeed caused Finance University to assign people to heavily guard him, and Chen Hao received a hint from the coach to give up on man-marking Xia Chiyi and focus on scoring.

Zhou Zhexiao and Xia Chiyi combined again, constantly passing the ball, playing a game of “guess, guess, guess again,” toying with Finance University’s interior defense.

Xia Chiyi constantly roamed under the basket, luring their power forward and center away from the rim. This gave Shuai Bei opportunities; he completed three fancy dunks in a row, finally gaining some presence.

On Finance University’s side, Jiang Yang ran like a madman to chase points. Connecting with Chen Hao, they formed a triangle with point guard Li Jia. This made Ye Chaoying’s steals much more difficult, and thus Finance University managed to keep the score difference tight.

By the end of the second quarter, Jiang Yang was breathing like a bellows; he was practically carried off while hanging onto Chen Hao.

Ningchang University led Finance University by 8 points.

Xia Chiyi sat on a chair sucking on jelly, while Ye Chaoying leaned on his shoulder as if he had no bones.

“Let me lean for a bit…”

Xia Chiyi knew how hard Ye Chaoying was working. If he hadn’t sealed off the guard pair of Li Jia and Jiang Yang, Ningchang University’s basket might have been shot full of holes by now.

“It’s fine. Guan Yu allows Zhang Fei to lean on his shoulder.”

“Get lost, where do I look like Zhang Fei? At the very least, I’m Zhao Zilong of Changshan!”

Xia Chiyi laughed, “Has anyone ever told you that Zhang Fei was actually a handsome man?”

“I don’t believe it. I just want to know… when will that Jiang Yang on the other side collapse? If he doesn’t collapse soon, I’m going to!”

At this moment, He Bin looked at the exhausted Ye Chaoying with great guilt. If he had the stamina of Jiang Yang on the other side and could run full court like that, he could go on the court directly and have a shootout with Jiang Yang.

Ling Huanzhen walked up to Ye Chaoying. “Can you still hold on?”

Ye Chaoying gave a thumbs up, indicating he was still okay.

Ling Huanzhen looked at Zhou Zhexiao. “What about the third quarter? Do you still want to use a specific person as the scoring core?”

Zhou Zhexiao calmly adjusted his shoelaces. “Everyone is a scoring point.”

The teammates all looked over.

Ye Chaoying lifted his eyelids. “Me too?”

“Yes, you too.”

“I suddenly feel like I’ve come back to life, like Popeye eating spinach!” Ye Chaoying immediately sat up straight. He was excited for about three seconds before leaning back onto Xia Chiyi’s shoulder.

So it was just a terminal lucidity.

When Ling Huanzhen finished laying out the tactics, there was a brief silence. Ye Chaoying could hear the breathing of Shuai Bei and Du He, but Xia Chiyi beside him had already returned to a normal heart rate, his breathing even.

“Why aren’t you tired at all?” Ye Chaoying frowned.

“Huh?” Xia Chiyi realized belatedly that he indeed wasn’t very tired.

If this were high school, he would be panting by now. But now, Xia Chiyi could feel it himself—he wasn’t tired.

“Although your running distance isn’t as much as mine, you’re either singling out the enemy small forward or being defended by the enemy twin towers… your dribbling sprints aren’t few either…”

With Ye Chaoying’s question, the rest of the team looked over.

Shuai Bei was considered one of the fittest on their team, but even he could feel that Xia Chiyi’s condition was much more relaxed than his own.

“Hey, you’ve been doing secret training, haven’t you!”

“Ah, I do equipment training, and also some shooting drills while in an exhausted state.”

Ling Huanzhen interrupted them at the right time. “Alright, if you are interested in Xia Chiyi’s methods for increasing stamina and endurance, wait until we beat Finance University. Including the winter break, we have a full three months. I will do my best to satisfy you!”

“I feel like… it’s not going to be pleasant training…” Du He whispered.

“Training in an exhausted state… sounds like it doesn’t suit a technical guard like me.” Ye Chaoying regretted it to death now; why did he have to bring up Xia Chiyi’s stamina?

“Speaking of stamina monsters, Zhou Zhexiao is one too, right? As a point guard, his full-court running is probably second only to Ye Chaoying, but look at him…” Chen Chuan lifted his chin.

Zhou Zhexiao’s expression was indifferent, as if he had just finished a warm-up.

Everyone coincidentally attached a label to him in their hearts: Super Monster.

The third quarter began. Finance University indeed swapped out shooting guard Jiang Yang to let him rest on the bench temporarily. The replacement was also good at shooting, but lacked Jiang Yang’s competition experience and was guarded by Ye Chaoying so tightly he could barely get a shot off.

And Zhou Zhexiao finally activated the legendary “Full Court Control Mode.” His keen insight always found the opponent’s weak points instantly. When he dribbled to break through, he was merciless; the basketball and his soles seemed to strike sparks against the floor.

In just three minutes, Du He and Shuai Bei completed two dunks under the basket, Xia Chiyi scored 8 points alone from long and short range, and even Ye Chaoying hit a three-pointer in a defensive gap.

Zhou Zhexiao, by his own power, choked Finance University by the throat, creating nearly undefended scoring opportunities for his teammates, forcing the Finance University coach to call another timeout for substitutions.

Every pass of his made Xia Chiyi feel deeply that this guy had mastered all tactics and coordination; no method of scoring was beyond his expectation.

Moreover, in just two quarters, Zhou Zhexiao had figured out the choices every opponent would make under pressure. He was like a devil, constantly applying pressure, guiding everything toward his predictions.

The more Finance U struggled, the more errors they made, which meant scoring opportunities for Ningchang University.

Jiang Yang was subbed back in.

When he passed Ye Chaoying, Ye Chaoying smiled, pointed at himself, then at Jiang Yang, meaning: I will keep watching you.

Jiang Yang’s face was ashen, but after taking the court, he truly gave everything to chase points for Finance University. He became the team’s scoring core, with all members screening for him.

However, even with the whole team trying to protect him, they couldn’t stop the sudden interference from Zhou Zhexiao and Ye Chaoying.

Finally, in the 8th minute of the third quarter, Jiang Yang’s stamina reached its limit. Ye Chaoying jumped high, intending to block his shot, but unexpectedly, he ended up being tackled by Jiang Yang!

“Holy cr—”

Ye Chaoying landed on his butt, hurting so much he suspected his tailbone had cracked.

In contrast, Jiang Yang lay motionless on top of Ye Chaoying, only his back heaving violently.

“Jiang Yang—”

“Jiang Yang, are you okay!”

Teammates gathered around and helped Jiang Yang up from Ye Chaoying. They only heard him say dejectedly, “You won…”

Ye Chaoying took two seconds to react, realizing he had finally worn Jiang Yang out. He didn’t rush to get up, simply lying back.

The bright stadium lights shone in his eyes, and the murmurs of the surrounding audience… none of it mattered anymore…

Ling Huanzhen knew Ye Chaoying couldn’t hold on any longer either, so he and Chen Chuan hurriedly helped him off.

“He Bin, get ready to go in! Whether this ‘one-for-one’ exchange is worth it depends on you!”

“Yes—” He Bin took a deep breath. He couldn’t let down Ye Chaoying’s hard work.

For the first time, the camps of Finance University and Ningchang University tacitly refrained from shouting slogans against each other.

Everyone admired these two players who had exhausted their stamina.

When both Jiang Yang and Ye Chaoying sat back on the bench, applause suddenly erupted throughout the arena.

This was a tribute from the entire basketball stadium.

Amidst this applause, Jiang Yang buried his head in a towel and cried loudly. This was the first time in his basketball career that he had to leave the court due to total exhaustion.

A teammate comforted him, “It doesn’t matter, Jiang Yang. In this exchange, the guy sticking to you went off too.”

“But He Bin came on. He has plenty of energy, and with Xia Chiyi there, if they activate ‘Double Shooter Mode’… we can’t stop them at all.” Jiang Yang faintly felt that they couldn’t win this time.

By the end of the third quarter, Finance University was trailing Ningchang University by 18 points.

Finally arriving at the deciding quarter, Zhou Zhexiao looked at Xia Chiyi. The boy was pulling his collar to wipe sweat, but his breathing was still relatively steady.

“Xia Chiyi, remember our practice?” Zhou Zhexiao spoke.

“I remember. I failed almost every time!”

“But Chen Hao’s strength is far below mine,” Zhou Zhexiao said.

“Huh?”

“Defending him is easier than defending me.” Zhou Zhexiao’s expression darkened. “Completely crush Finance University’s heart to counterattack.”

This guy was simply a reaper on the court.

Xia Chiyi looked at Zhou Zhexiao’s cold side profile, but deep inside, he began to feel eager to try.

Sure enough, after receiving a pass from a teammate, Chen Hao drove frantically into Ningchang University’s paint.

“Who are you looking down on—”

Shuai Bei jumped to swat the ball down, but Chen Hao raised his left hand high, fending Shuai Bei off.

Just as the ball was about to be placed in the basket, a hand reached out from the side and flicked the ball away!

Chen Hao hadn’t even sensed that person’s approach.

“Xia Chiyi—Am I seeing this right?! Xia Chiyi stopped Chen Hao’s layup—”

“Is there anything this guy can’t do?!”

“How did he… with such a light flick? The ball was just gone?”

At this moment, Xia Chiyi had already taken the ball and cut into the opponent’s territory. Zhou Zhexiao’s help defense disrupted the opponent’s formation under the basket. Xia Chiyi ran until he couldn’t stop, so he simply accelerated and jumped. Bang— a dunk.

The whole arena was stunned.

Xu Mi also opened her mouth wide, doubting what she had seen.

Xia Chiyi’s vertical height when dunking… it was like he was flying.

When Xia Chiyi landed, he immediately ran towards Zhou Zhexiao and, under the gaze of the crowd, jumped onto him and shook him.

“I dunked! I dunked! Arrogant or what!”

After speaking, he kept pulling and shaking Zhou Zhexiao’s hair, making Ling Huanzhen’s heart skip a beat.

You can’t pluck the Great Demon King’s hair like that!

But Zhou Zhexiao just encircled him with one arm, patting his back with the other hand until his excitement passed.

This dunk completely blasted away Finance University’s momentum to chase points.

Not only that, Xia Chiyi competently fulfilled Chen Chuan’s usual duties, confidently setting pick-and-rolls for He Bin. With the two coordinating, the score gap widened even further.

Every time He Bin shot, many spectators in the Finance University camp covered their eyes, truly unable to bear watching the provincial dominator suffer such a crushing defeat.

The game entered the countdown. With fifteen seconds left, Chen Hao finally got a steal and rushed toward Ningchang University’s basket. This ball wasn’t about winning; he wanted to prove something.

Or perhaps it was his provocation—Xia Chiyi, stop me if you can!

This ball wouldn’t change the outcome, but Xia Chiyi still sprinted at surprising speed. Chen Hao jumped for the layup, hearing gasps from all directions. Xia Chiyi was like a graceful and agile antelope; despite jumping a split second later, he arrived at the highest point almost simultaneously with Chen Hao.

In this moment, all eyes were focused, and countless heartbeats were elongated.

Chen Hao wanted to use his off-hand to block, but Xia Chiyi’s jumping angle destined that he couldn’t contest Xia Chiyi in the air.

Thump— The sound was incredibly clear in the basketball arena.

Xia Chiyi hooked away Chen Hao’s ball. After landing, he quickly dribbled to the three-point line. Chen Hao didn’t even have the strength to chase him, watching helplessly as Xia Chiyi took the shot.

The moment it went in, cheers erupted. The Ningchang University spectator section hugged each other in a mass.

“We won! We won!”

“Ningchang University—Ningchang University—”

Principal Feng, who was watching, hugged his office director. “Haha, we won! We are the strongest in Jin Province! A once-in-a-century occurrence! What so many principals couldn’t achieve, I did!”

The office director sighed with emotion, “It’s because Principal Feng has boldness! Hiring Ling Huanzhen as the coach!”

Little Fatty (Pang Shuai) held his camera the entire time, afraid of missing any exciting moments. At this moment, both his face and back were soaked with sweat.

Ling Huanzhen’s fans also unscrupulously held up the banner “Yesterday’s Top Power Forward, Today’s Gold Medal Head Coach” to the highest point. Ling Huanzhen took out his phone, snapped a picture of the scene, and sent it to his old rival Li Xiaoran: [Do you get this treatment?]

No matter what Li Xiaoran replied, Ling Huanzhen decided the other party was jealous of him.

In the stands, Xu Mi let out a long breath, then couldn’t help but smile.

What was she worried about? What was she nervous about? Ningchang University was clearly still training troops, holding back their strength. The true, full-throttle Ningchang University would probably only be seen in the Southeast Division games.

But Xu Mi couldn’t help feeling excited because the game was played so brilliantly. Everyone had breakthroughs in unexpected positions.

Xu Mi dared to say Zhou Zhexiao’s organizational skills were not inferior to the point guards of top powerhouses like Qing University or Southwest Aviation University.

Xia Chiyi, clearly an outstanding shooting guard, dared to contest in the paint today. Not only could he score calmly under the double lockdown of the opposing power forward and center, but he also intercepted the opposing ace Chen Hao’s layups twice. It was brilliant.

As for Ye Chaoying, he was even more admirable. Playing man-to-man defense on Jiang Yang the whole game, almost cutting off the passing lane between Li Jia and Jiang Yang, he forcibly dragged down Jiang Yang, who was the best at positioning and had the best stamina among the provincial shooting guards.

—Ningchang University is truly strong.

The result was out, but spectators not belonging to either school lingered, still savoring the match.

Xu Mi heard the audience around her still discussing excitedly.

“Ningchang University’s point guard today was really amazing. It was like he controlled the entire team. I’ve never seen a game played like that!”

“That’s because you haven’t watched enough games. The point guard is known as the coach on the court. But those who can play like Number 14 today are truly rare!”

“I took several photos of Number 14 dribbling; he’s so handsome!”

“Haha, I took a lot of Number 15. I came specifically to see his three-pointers, but I didn’t expect him to be so amazing under the basket too!”

Where there is victory, there is defeat. Finance U’s section was very quiet. Jiang Yang had a towel over his head. Chen Hao sat down beside him.

Chen Hao’s throat ached inexplicably. He said dejectedly, “I’m sorry. You worked so hard, but we still… lost.”

Jiang Yang took a deep breath and patted Chen Hao’s shoulder. “We held nothing back. We executed our tactics to the best of our ability. We worked hard this year too, and no one was out of form. It’s simply… the opponent is stronger than us…”

The referee asked both teams to stand on the court and announced Ningchang University’s victory in this match.

The teams shook hands.

When Xia Chiyi passed Chen Hao, the latter said, “I underestimated you. You are very strong.”

“You too. If I hadn’t seen your left-hand guarded layup, I might never have realized it was my own weakness,” Xia Chiyi replied.

“Oh? But you picked off two of my balls in a row.”

“To be honest, to guard you, Zhou Zhexiao from our team practiced a few hundred balls with me,” Xia Chiyi admitted readily.

Chen Hao took a deep breath. “So you aren’t naturally gifted. I feel a bit better.”

Beside them, Zhou Zhexiao stood with his hands in his pockets, waiting for Xia Chiyi to chat with Chen Hao. Seeing that they seemed to be continuing the conversation, he finally spoke: “Out of the hundreds of layups I did, he only picked off one.”

Chen Hao choked. What does that mean? He only picked one of your hundreds, but he picked off my last two in a row. Are you saying I’m far inferior to you?

The game is over; why is this guy’s competitive spirit still so strong?

“Hahaha, ignore him. This guy is just like that. If he doesn’t choke people with words, he feels uncomfortable.”

Xia Chiyi quickly dragged Zhou Zhexiao off the court.

Ye Chaoying shook hands with Jiang Yang, then they hugged.

“You are the first man to drain my battery dry.” Jiang Yang hung onto Ye Chaoying’s body as if in revenge.

Ye Chaoying stumbled backward; fortunately, Shuai Bei supported his back.

“You are also the first man to make me drain my battery. You just wouldn’t fall, making me doubt my endurance.”

After shaking hands with Coach Tao of Finance U on the court, Ling Huanzhen chatted with him off the court.

“To be honest, when we coaches chat together, the things said about you aren’t very nice,” Coach Tao said with a smile.

“I know, I can guess. Everyone must say that a good athlete doesn’t necessarily make a good coach. They also say I’m just playing around as this school team coach, and once I’ve had enough fun, I’ll join the Basketball Association or something. They say I played recklessly and wasn’t the intellectual type. Compared to me, someone like Li Xiaoran, who started as a point guard, is more suitable to be a coach.”

Coach Tao laughed. “Hahaha, you’ve said everything we say. But today, you made me concede defeat.”

“Coach Tao is too humble. I’m inferior to you in tactics and training. I just have good luck and met capable players.”

“Do you mean Zhou Zhexiao, or Xia Chiyi?” Coach Tao’s tone was meaningful.

Decades of coaching allowed Coach Tao to clearly see the strength and potential of these two. Their future was definitely not just the university first-division league; with careful grooming, they could absolutely walk the professional path.

“Both of them.” Ling Huanzhen looked at his team. “When I retired, I really felt… my spirit seemed to have died, leaving only a shell to eat, drink, shit, and sleep. But being with them, I found that not only am I alive, but I’m living very well.”

“Coach Ling, next we will compete with Chengjiang College for second place. We are still confident about qualifying. Before the divisional competition, I hope our two schools can spar often and improve together.”

“Of course, and please, Coach Tao, help me, this junior, as much as possible. Once we enter the Southeast Division, it will be countless times more cruel than now.”

The two teams left the court, and the audience gradually left the basketball arena.

Du He hugged his parents, and his parents shed tears.

“Son! You played so handsomely today! Dad told the relatives your team won the provincial championship, and my face is glowing with pride!”

“Right, right, right, just play ball well following that… Chen Jingrun… Hawking guy!”

Du He smiled and told his mom, “It’s Ling Huanzhen, Coach Ling!”

“And your teammate, that one called Zhou Zhexiao is really amazing. As long as he passes to you, you score! Don’t think Mom can’t tell, although you scored the points, it was with Zhou Zhexiao’s help! Which dorm is he in? Tell Mom, Mom will send him dried sweet potatoes!”

Zhou Zhexiao, who was standing not far behind Du He, suddenly retreated several steps silently, even lowering his head as if afraid of being seen.

Xia Chiyi smiled wickedly and slapped him hard on the back. “What are you doing? Du He’s mom said she wants to send you dried sweet potatoes. Aren’t you going over to say thanks?”

Zhou Zhexiao replied, “After Shuai Bei ate them, a big lump grew on his chin and his voice went hoarse.”

“That’s because Du He’s family’s dried sweet potatoes taste too good; he accidentally ate three jin (1.5kg).”

“Also causes gas.”

“You smelled it?” Xia Chiyi winked.

Zhou Zhexiao turned his face away, a completely childish expression.

The school bus was parked, and Coach Cheng came over to call them to get on quickly. The school cafeteria chef had prepared signature dishes for lunch; if they didn’t hurry back, the food would get cold.

“There’s braised pork, roasted Longli fish, black pepper short ribs, scallion stir-fried prawns… slowpokes will eat dirt!”

Hearing Coach Cheng say this, everyone scrambled to get on the bus.

Coach Cheng wanted to invite Du He’s parents to join, but they were in a hurry to drive back; there were still many sweet potatoes in the factory waiting to be processed.

Little Fatty stood at the door carrying his camera, not knowing if he should get on.

After all, it was the basketball team’s celebration feast. He was just a photographer plus Xia Chiyi and the others’ roommate. Or perhaps he should go back with the Student Union people.

But the Student Union people had already left…

Just as he was hesitating with his head down, the school bus window opened, and Xia Chiyi’s voice came out: “Pang Shuai—didn’t you hear Coach Cheng? Slowpokes eat dirt—”

Even one of Shuai Bei’s arms extended out the window, slapping the side of the bus twice. “Photographer, move fast! Fast! Fast!”

“Come up quick, we’re waiting to pick photos!”

Pang Shuai revealed a big smile, ran over happily, and got on the bus.

As soon as he got on, everyone couldn’t wait to tell him to transfer the photos to their phones.

“Holy crap, Zhou Zhexiao is inhumanely handsome! How does this guy manage to be expressionless?”

“This bounce pass has such damn aura; my hands were trembling when I caught it. Zhou Zhexiao, are you an AI?”

“Look, look, Ye Chaoying’s steal is so badass! Look at Jiang Yang’s expression, like he’s about to faint!”

…

Xia Chiyi received photos in the group chat on his phone, occasionally nudging Zhou Zhexiao with his elbow.

“Look at this one. Holy crap, did you know your expression was so cool when you passed?”

Zhou Zhexiao yawned, uninterested even when praised.

“This no-look pass, your side profile is simply a god-tier face!”

“God-tier face?” Zhou Zhexiao finally reacted, looking at the excited Xia Chiyi.

“It means your face looks as good as a god’s.”

“Just the face is good-looking?” Zhou Zhexiao’s voice was soft, as if confirming something with Xia Chiyi.

Xia Chiyi paused, but the expression on his face didn’t change, though a certain place in his heart softened.

“Because of your powerful field control, the way you find loopholes in the opponent’s formation, your understanding of the opponent, then using the opponent’s habits to influence the tactical thinking, your ability to design the opponent’s patience over two quarters, and your big heart that calmly analyzes no matter what happens… makes me think you are super handsome.”

“Oh.” Zhou Zhexiao lowered his eyes, the corners of his mouth seeming to dip slightly.

Xia Chiyi leaned a bit closer and added, “It has nothing to do with the face.”

At this, Zhou Zhexiao’s smile became obvious.

Xia Chiyi seemed to understand why Zhou Zhexiao didn’t play forward this time, but deliberately played point guard.

This was a lesson he specially taught for him, a lesson given without reservation.

Zhou Zhexiao had analyzed these offensive organization thoughts for him countless times when they watched NBA games.

And today, he demonstrated them all, showing them to Xia Chiyi without holding back.

“Coach Ling, didn’t you say that if we won this game, you had rewards for everyone?” Ye Chaoying shouted at the top of his lungs.

Ling Huanzhen pressed down on his head grumpily. “The sky cleared, the rain stopped, and you think you’re capable again?”

“Speaking of which, did Qing University’s Coach Li say anything? Didn’t he say he’d treat us to barbecue? If we storm Qing University this weekend, will he really prepare a three-hundred-meter barbecue stall?” Shuai Bei still remembered how Li Xiaoran had mocked them.

“Hahaha, he only replied with one sentence: Wait to die. As if we could meet Qing University.” Ling Huanzhen said half-jokingly, actually wanting to see everyone’s reaction.

“Nonsense, of course we can meet Qing University!”

“So what if it’s a century-old school? In the first-division league, we’ll take down their signboard!”

“Exactly, winning the championship isn’t based on seniority!”

Seeing the team members so imposing, Ling Huanzhen expressed his satisfaction.

“Now, I’m going to distribute everyone’s rewards.”

Ling Huanzhen really brought a black sports bag, and it was bulging.

He took out a hardcover book. “This book, Which Cologne Suits You, fits Ye Chaoying very well. I hope after you read it, the team locker room can have a more natural scent.”

The whole team burst into laughter.

“You bunch of tasteless roughnecks!”

Despite the verbal disdain, Ye Chaoying cherished it when he took it. If Xia Chiyi remembered correctly, Ye Chaoying had mentioned wanting to buy this book when school just started, but the circulation was small and it wasn’t available domestically. The one Ling Huanzhen gave him looked like the original edition.

Ling Huanzhen took out another hardcover book and gave it to Du He. “This book, Your Life Exceeds Your Imagination, was carefully chosen by me for you.”

“Hahaha, I get it. This book means Du He—your life isn’t just about inheriting the family business!” Shuai Bei bumped Du He.

Du He took it and whispered, “Growing up, this is the first time I’ve received a gift from a coach!”

“Wait, this doesn’t seem to be toxic chicken soup; it’s the autobiography of the active NBA Suns center, Valuna! This is clearly the Chinese edition, but the signature seems real?” Chen Chuan leaned his head in and shouted in surprise.

“Of course it’s real. Can’t I know Valuna? Can’t he send me his signed autobiography?”

“I want one too! This is good!”

“Me too, me too!”

Ye Chaoying tilted his head. “Suddenly I feel my original edition book isn’t fragrant anymore!”

“You ungrateful dogs. You despise my signature, but treat someone else’s as a treasure even when you can’t read it!” Ling Huanzhen pretended to be angry.

Xia Chiyi laughed heartily. “Coach, we actually can’t read your signature either!”

Ling Huanzhen walked over holding a hard-shell hardcover book and lightly knocked it on Xia Chiyi’s head. “This one is for you. It’s real chicken soup. Comprehend it well.”

“What?” Xia Chiyi took it and read the title aloud. “Beware the… Schemer Who Acts Cute to You?“

Beside him, Zhou Zhexiao’s brows furrowed slightly.

The others craned their necks, and Ye Chaoying in the front row also lay on the back of his chair.

“I always feel the coach means something. Who around you acts cute to you?”

“No one!” Xia Chiyi touched his head.

“Do you have some misunderstanding about acting cute (sajiao)? Acting cute isn’t just ‘Brother help me,’ or ‘Brother you’re the best.’ Using one’s physical advantages to make a well-behaved expression to soften your heart is also acting cute!” Ye Chaoying reminded.

“No one…” Xia Chiyi dug through his brain for a long time but couldn’t think of a corresponding person.

Ling Huanzhen took a deep breath and patted Xia Chiyi’s shoulder. ” The spectator sees the chess game better than the player. When you grow up a bit more, you’ll understand.”

Xia Chiyi suddenly blurted out, “I think acting cute is useless. Coach Ling, aren’t you the best proof?”

“Me? How did this get back to me?”

“For example, if you don’t act cute, Master just has a cold face. Once you act cute, Master spits fire.” Xia Chiyi looked at Ling Huanzhen with innocent eyes.

Ling Huanzhen opened his mouth but couldn’t say a word. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the quiet Zhou Zhexiao and found the other’s lips curving slightly; he was obviously smiling.

Holy crap, what are you smiling at, Great Demon King?

The schemer who acts cute is talking about you!

“So what about Zhou Zhexiao? He played point guard with such domineering aura today; is there no reward?” Xia Chiyi looked at Ling Huanzhen.

Ling Huanzhen forced a smile. “Yes, of course there is.”

After speaking, he actually took out a very retro pictorial magazine. The paper was somewhat yellowed, and the cover design looked like a magazine from fifteen or twenty years ago.

“Ugh—Coach Ling, where did you dig up this antique? You couldn’t sell three for a dollar at a street stall!” Xia Chiyi tilted his head, feeling injustice for Zhou Zhexiao.

“Holy crap, this is imported goods!” Ye Chaoying raised his hand to touch it but was moved away by Ling Huanzhen.

“Zhou Zhexiao, I don’t know if you have any impression of this? Oh, probably not. You’re only eighteen now; it has a longer history than you.”

Hearing Ling Huanzhen introduce it like this, Xia Chiyi curiously took it. It was a magazine from a long time ago, carefully wrapped in plastic film. The pages inside were yellowed, the cover was in English, and it featured various lines that invited reverie.

Hmm, it doesn’t look like a decent magazine.

Curiosity is human nature, especially for young people. Just as Xia Chiyi was about to open it, Zhou Zhexiao’s hand suddenly reached over and covered the back of Xia Chiyi’s hand. His palm was a bit hot, and crucially, his finger strength was immense. Xia Chiyi’s hand was suppressed firmly, unable to move.

“I know what this is.”

“What?” Ling Huanzhen’s expression was full of provocation toward Zhou Zhexiao.